BOSTON, Mass. - The Navy rowing teams competed with some of the top crews in the world on Sunday at the Head of the Charles in Boston, Mass. The heavyweight, lightweight and women's teams all competed in a four and a eight race in the 48th-annual regatta, which featured 9,000 athletes taking part in 55 events over two days.

Each crew faced a big headwind on Sunday on the Charles River, making for less than ideal conditions on the approximately 3-mile course. In the heavyweight championship eights race, which featured a total of 28 boats, the Mids placed 15th. The Mids were one of four crews to cross the finish line within one second of each other. Yale (15:13.33), Northeastern (15:13.48), Navy (15:14.09) and Cornell (15:14.52) finished in 13th-16th places, respectively.

The heavyweight team's other crew placed 11th of 20 boats in the championship fours race with a time of 17:38. Stanford won the race with a time of 16:50.

"I thought the guys rowed well but we let the conditions get to us too much," said Navy heavyweight head coach Rob Friedrich. "It was good we were in the mix with some of the better crews in our league, and now we just have to get a little better each week."

The Navy women also battled strong headwinds and choppy waters, which helped lead to collisions in both of its races. In the championship fours race, a collision slowed down the Mids as they posted a time of 21:03 to take 17th place. A 1:00 penalty in the championship eights race dropped Navy all the way to 37th with an adjusted time of 19:16.

"We didn't have the clean runs like we would have liked," said Navy women's head coach Mike Hughes. "There are so many bridges and turns in the Head of the Charles, which in a race of this size, can become a factor."

The Navy lightweight fours were also hit with a 1:00 penalty in their race, finishing with an adjusted time of 19:32 to take 15th place. However, Navy's lightweight eight posted the best finish by any of the Mids' boats on Sunday. The Mids' lightweight eight turned in a 15:17, which was good for eighth place.

Both of the Navy men's teams will return to action next Sunday at the Princeton Chase, while the women will be in Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday for the Head of the Schuylkill.